14 That night all the members of the community raised their voices and
wept aloud. 2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the
whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this
wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by
the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be
better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 And they said to each other, “We should
choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite
assembly gathered there. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who
were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to
the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is
exceedingly good. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that
land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. 9 Only do not
rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because
we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not
be afraid of them.”

10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of
the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. 11 The Lord
said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long
will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed
among them? 12 I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will
make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.”

13 Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By
your power you brought these people up from among them. 14 And they will tell
the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, Lord,
are with these people and that you, Lord, have been seen face to face, that
your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by
day and a pillar of fire by night. 15 If you put all these people to death,
leaving none alive, the nations who have heard this report about you will say,
16 ‘The Lord was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them
on oath, so he slaughtered them in the wilderness.’

17 “Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared:
18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and
rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the
children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’ 19 In
accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you
have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.”

20 The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked. 21
Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills
the whole earth, 22 not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed
in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times— 23
not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors.
No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. 24 But because my
servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will
bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it. 25
Since the Amalekites and the Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back
tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.[a]”

26 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 27 “How long will this wicked
community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling
Israelites. 28 So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do
to you the very thing I heard you say: 29 In this wilderness your bodies will
fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census
and who has grumbled against me. 30 Not one of you will enter the land I swore
with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua
son of Nun. 31 As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I
will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. 32 But as for you, your
bodies will fall in this wilderness. 33 Your children will be shepherds here
for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your
bodies lies in the wilderness. 34 For forty years—one year for each of the forty
days you explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is
like to have me against you.’ 35 I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will surely do
these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against
me. They will meet their end in this wilderness; here they will die.”

36 So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made
the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it— 37
these men who were responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were
struck down and died of a plague before the Lord. 38 Of the men who went to
explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.

39 When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they mourned bitterly.
40 Early the next morning they set out for the highest point in the hill
country, saying, “Now we are ready to go up to the land the Lord promised.
Surely we have sinned!”

41 But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying the Lord’s command? This will
not succeed! 42 Do not go up, because the Lord is not with you. You will be
defeated by your enemies, 43 for the Amalekites and the Canaanites will face
you there. Because you have turned away from the Lord, he will not be with you
and you will fall by the sword.”

44 Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the highest
point in the hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the Lord’s
covenant moved from the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who
lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all
the way to Hormah.

Numbers 15

Supplementary Offerings

15 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘After
you enter the land I am giving you as a home 3 and you present to the Lord food
offerings from the herd or the flock, as an aroma pleasing to the Lord—whether
burnt offerings or sacrifices, for special vows or freewill offerings or
festival offerings— 4 then the person who brings an offering shall present to
the Lord a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah[a] of the finest flour mixed
with a quarter of a hin[b] of olive oil. 5 With each lamb for the burnt
offering or the sacrifice, prepare a quarter of a hin of wine as a drink
offering.

6 “‘With a ram prepare a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah[c] of
the finest flour mixed with a third of a hin[d] of olive oil, 7 and a third of
a hin of wine as a drink offering. Offer it as an aroma pleasing to the Lord.

8 “‘When you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or sacrifice, for
a special vow or a fellowship offering to the Lord, 9 bring with the bull a
grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah[e] of the finest flour mixed with
half a hin[f] of olive oil, 10 and also bring half a hin of wine as a drink
offering. This will be a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. 11 Each
bull or ram, each lamb or young goat, is to be prepared in this manner. 12 Do
this for each one, for as many as you prepare.

13 “‘Everyone who is native-born must do these things in this way when
they present a food offering as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. 14 For the
generations to come, whenever a foreigner or anyone else living among you
presents a food offering as an aroma pleasing to the Lord, they must do exactly
as you do. 15 The community is to have the same rules for you and for the foreigner
residing among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.
You and the foreigner shall be the same before the Lord: 16 The same laws and
regulations will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing among you.’”

17 The Lord said to Moses, 18 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them:
‘When you enter the land to which I am taking you 19 and you eat the food of
the land, present a portion as an offering to the Lord. 20 Present a loaf from
the first of your ground meal and present it as an offering from the threshing
floor. 21 Throughout the generations to come you are to give this offering to
the Lord from the first of your ground meal.

Offerings for Unintentional Sins

22 “‘Now if you as a community unintentionally fail to keep any of these
commands the Lord gave Moses— 23 any of the Lord’s commands to you through him,
from the day the Lord gave them and continuing through the generations to come—
24 and if this is done unintentionally without the community being aware of it,
then the whole community is to offer a young bull for a burnt offering as an
aroma pleasing to the Lord, along with its prescribed grain offering and drink
offering, and a male goat for a sin offering.[g] 25 The priest is to make
atonement for the whole Israelite community, and they will be forgiven, for it
was not intentional and they have presented to the Lord for their wrong a food
offering and a sin offering. 26 The whole Israelite community and the
foreigners residing among them will be forgiven, because all the people were
involved in the unintentional wrong.

27 “‘But if just one person sins unintentionally, that person must bring
a year-old female goat for a sin offering. 28 The priest is to make atonement
before the Lord for the one who erred by sinning unintentionally, and when
atonement has been made, that person will be forgiven. 29 One and the same law
applies to everyone who sins unintentionally, whether a native-born Israelite
or a foreigner residing among you.

30 “‘But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or foreigner,
blasphemes the Lord and must be cut off from the people of Israel. 31 Because
they have despised the Lord’s word and broken his commands, they must surely be
cut off; their guilt remains on them.’”

The Sabbath-Breaker Put to Death

32 While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found
gathering wood on the Sabbath day. 33 Those who found him gathering wood
brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, 34 and they kept him in
custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. 35 Then the Lord
said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the
camp.” 36 So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as
the Lord commanded Moses.

Tassels on Garments

37 The Lord said to Moses, 38 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them:
‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of
your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. 39 You will have these tassels
to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may
obey them and not prostitute yourselves by chasing after the lusts of your own
hearts and eyes. 40 Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated
to your God. 41 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your
God. I am the Lord your God.’”